Everything I Have
by JennCullen4928
Summary: Lucas and Peyton are the perfect couple. They have an awesome apartment, great jobs, and a loving relationship. But what happens when Peyton goes missing? Can Lucas save her? Chapter 14 finally up! Sorry for the long update! I promise the wait is over!
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

Peyton Sawyer had been through a lot in her 19 years of life. Two moms dying, her dad away for months at a time, and a psycho claiming to be her brother. And through it all, there was her saving grace, Lucas Scott. She didn't know how she would have made it through high school, or life for that matter, without him. He was always there to comfort her, to save her, or just to talk. She couldn't imagine her life without him. After dating for two years and three months, she finally felt like everything was perfect.

**Chapter One**

"Peyton!" Lucas shouted.

"I'm in the bedroom!" I yell back.

Lucas comes upstairs and finds me laying on the bed flipping through a magazine. "How was work?" I ask.

"Decent. But nothing compares to coming home and being with you."

He lays down on the bed next to me and pulls me to him. I smile and wrap my arms around him and we kiss. "What do you say that I shower and then we go out to dinner?" Lucas asks.

"How about I join you for your shower?" I reply.

"I thought you'd never ask."

I get up and pull off my T shirt and jeans with Lucas watching every move I make. I reach for the clasp on my bra and let it fall to the floor. I stand in front of him wearing nothing but my panties and walk into the bathroom and start the shower. I test the temperature and then stand up, only to feel strong arms being wrapped around my waist. I turn around and we kiss deeply. "C'mon" I whisper.

We step into the shower and let the hot water run over us. "I missed you today." I whisper again.

"I'm here now." he says softly before kissing me again.

45 minutes later, we get out of the shower and dress to go out to dinner. We drive to an Italian restaurant the next town over and talk and laugh over a few glasses of wine and our plates of pasta.

By 2am, we're both exhausted and fall into bed. "I can't remember ever being this...happy." I sigh.

"What do you mean?" Lucas asks.

"It's just...it seems like for most of my life it's just been drama and chaos and being alone. And I finally feel like maybe things are finally going to be okay. We're going to be okay."

Lucas kisses the top of my blonde curls. "I promise that from now on, everything is going to be okay." he assures me.

I get woken up by a knock on the door. I glance quickly at the clock and see that it's 9:30am. I hear the door open and realize that Lucas is already up. I come downstairs in my pajamas and see Nathan, Haley, and Jamie. "Aunt Peyton!" he yells.

I scoop him up into a big hug. "You hungry?" I ask.

"Yes. Definitely yes!" he exclaims.

"Jamie, you just had TWO bowls of cereal!" Haley laughs.

"But I'm still hungry!"

I laugh and put Jamie down. Lucas hands me a cup of coffee and I kiss him softly. "Good morning boyfriend"

We all go into the kitchen and I make french toast for everyone. After that, we go to the River Court and play some basketball, girls against boys. We spend the rest of the day shopping at the mall and playing video games.

Later that night, my cell phone rings. "Don't answer it." Lucas pleads.

"I have to. It's work." I laugh.

I answer the call and hang up two minutes later.

"Ugh. I have to go to the magazine to get my laptop. I left it there and I have an article due tomorrow. Nothing like playing 'Beat the Clock'"

I kiss Lucas quickly and grab my keys.

I won't be long. Wait up for me."

"You can be sure of that." he says.

Little does he know that may be the last time we see each other again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

I slip on my shoes, grab my keys and lock the door on my way out of the apartment. I get in the car and turn on the heat. _God it's freezing in here _I think. I drive to the **Thud **office and unlock the door. I grab my laptop and slip it into my bag. I make sure I don't need anything else before locking up. As I'm locking the door, I hear someone say "Hey Peyton!" I turn at the sound of the voice, and suddenly all I can feel is a searing pain in my head. My keys and purse fall to the ground as everything starts getting blurry.

"Wh-" I start to say.

I don't even get a chance to finish my question before I pass out.

Lucas looks at the clock again. 11:02 Over an hour since I left, and Lucas is starting to get worried. _Maybe she just fell asleep at the office _he thinks. He reaches for his cell phone and dials my cell phone, but it just goes straight to voice mail. He tries calling Nathan and Haley to see if I stopped over there, but they tell him they haven't seen me since earlier in the day when we were all together. "Where the hell could she be?" he mumbles to himself.

After I pass out, the person who attacked me picks me up and sling me over his shoulder. He makes sure nobody is around and then throws me into the trunk of his car.

When I finally come to, the first thing I notice is the excruciating pain in my head. I touch my forehead gently and become alarmed that there's blood on my fingertips. I look around the room. I'm in the bedroom of a house. I have no idea where, but from the looks of it, this house is in serious disrepair. The furniture is musty and rusting, the air is thick. I try and open the door but it won't budge. There's no windows.

_I have go get out of here _I think to myself.

I look around the room for anything that I could use to pick the lock with, but come up empty.

_How long have I been here? An hour? Maybe more? Who would do this to me? Fuck._

I sit down on the bed and begin crying silently. I don't want to make too much noise that would alert the person who put me here.

Suddenly I hear a muffled beep. I scan the room quickly, wondering what could have caused it. Suddenly, I notice that it's coming from me. I check my pockets and find my cell phone in one of them in my sweatpants. I silently thank God. The beep was alerting me that I had almost no battery power left. _Maybe just enough to make one call. _I think to myself.

Frantically, I dial Lucas' cell phone.

"Peyton where are you? Are you okay?" he asks worried

I break down crying at the sound of his voice, but know that I have no time to waste.

"Lucas, you have to help me. I was leaving Thud, and someone attacked me. I just woke up in this room. I have no idea where I am. Please, help." I sob.

"Who did this to you?" he asks panicking.

"I don't know. Just please...help me."

All the sudden, I hear the door open and my cell phone slips out of my hand. A tall man, about 6'5" enters the room holding a knife.

He walks towards me and hits me so hard that I reel back on the bed. I feel everything start to get fuzzy.

"It doesn't matter if you call for help. They'll never make it here. And if they do, they won't get to you before you're dead." he says in a gravelly voice.

It's only a matter of seconds before I lose conciousness again.

"Peyton? Peyton, can you hear me? Peyton!" Lucas yells.

He runs downstairs and gets in his car at lightning speed. He rushes into the police department. "I need help. My girlfriend, Peyton Sawyer, just called me. She told me that someone atttacked her outside of Thud magazine and abducted her. You need to help me!" he shouts.

"Do you know where she is?" the officer asks him

"No, if I did, I would be telling you!" she shouts.

"Son, now calm down. We'll find her."

Lucas and the officers head to Thud. My car is still parked outside, and Lucas notices blood on the sidewalk just outside the building. _Oh God. Please don't let anything happen to her._ he thinks. "Okay, we need a description of what she was wearing. We're also going to need the names of all of her friends to see if maybe they have any idea where she might be, anyone that might have done this." the officer tells Lucas.

"Um...she was wearing sweatpants and a sweatshit. It had the name of some band on it..." he says. _Why didn't I pay attention to what her damn shirt said? _

"We're also going to need a recent picture of her. We'll show it around, see if anyone has seen her."

Half an hour later Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Karen, and Keith are all in our apartment sitting at the kitchen table. Lucas is sitting slumped in a chair with his head in his hands.

"Who could have done something like this?" Brooke whispers.

"They'll find her. I'm positive. Peyton's a strong girl...she can survive anything." Keith says.

Nobody else knows what to say that can comfort Lucas.

Karen rubs her son's back lightly. "Just pray sweetie. Just pray." she whispers to him.

Meanwhile, the man who attacked me has me bound to a chair with a gag in my mouth. I try and scream, make any type of sound but it's useless. Every so often he'll beat me or cut me with his knife and then leave. I try and scream and yell but nobody hears me. I fade in and out of consciousness for days.

Let me know how you think the story is going! Please read and review! More chapters up tomorrow!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

"You know, you're a tough little bitch. No matter what I do to you, you just won't give up." the man in front of me says. He grabs me by my hair and yanks my head up so I'm looking directly in his eyes. Meanwhile, I'm trying to loosen the ropes that have been holding my wrists for the past four days. I move the razorblade slowly over the rope, trying so hard not to make any sort of movement. I don't want him to notice what I'm doing and I also don't want to end up slashing my wrists. Although in the end, that might be a better alternative to what he's going to do to me.

"The others never lasted this long." he whispers close to my face.

I can't stand the feel of his breath on my face. It makes me want to heave.

Finally I feel the ropes fall away from my wrists but I catch them before they fall to the ground. I keep the razorblade tucked between my fingers. If I'm going to try and pull this off, the time is now.

_Four days. Four days since I've seen her. God, she could be anywhere. Anything could happen in four days. Anything could happen in one instant, for God's sake. What if they were too late? What if they couldn't find her? _Lucas tries to shake the thoughts from his head.

He hasn't eaten, slept, or done much of anything since I've been gone. All he's done is look at his cell phone praying for some sort of news that I'm okay.

Keith appears in the doorway. "Can I come in?" he asks. Lucas only nods.

"They'll find her Luke. You have to have faith."

"She doesn't deserve this. She could be dead for all we know..." his voice trails off as he chokes back a sob.

Keith puts his hand on Lucas' shoulder to comfort him but instead Lucas just hugs Keith and sobs. Karen watches the scene from the doorway and can't help but feel her heart breaking. "Peyton, please make it through this." she whispers to the ceiling.

_I have to hold on. I have to do this. Even if I don't make it, I have to try. This can't happen to them. I have to be there for them. All of them. Especially Lucas._

My bones ache like nothing I have ever felt before, and I'm not even sure I have the strength to move. I pray to God and my mom and whoever else is up there to just let me make it through this alive. To give me the strength to get out of here.

His back is turned. I slowly bring my hands from behind my back. My wrists are bruised black and blue from the ropes. I slowly stand up, not making a sound. I make my way towards him and he turns around.

"What the fu-" he starts

He brings his hand back to strike me but instead I slice the razorblade as hard as I can over whatever part of his body I can. And then I run.

I have no idea where I'm going, I'm just goig on pure adrenaline. I bolt through a door and suddenly I'm blinded by sunlight. I recoil for a second before running as fast as my legs will allow me to. I make my way through the trees not even feeling the branches smack against my face as I run.

I hear him behind me and start running faster. I see the edge of the cliff ahead and I hear the water rushing below it. _It's now or never. _I close my eyes and run full speed ahead, and suddenly I'm in the air. I feel the water rush over me like it's about to swallow me whole...and then, I don't feel anything at all.

Lucas is jarred awake by the phone. He looks out the window and realizes he's slept for at least a couple of hours. The sky is completely dark. He answers the phone.

"Lucas, we found her. You need to get to the hospital." the detective tells him.

"How? Where? Is she okay?" he asks in a rush.

"I'll fill you in when you get here." he replies.

He rushes downstairs and out the door like a bat out of hell, leaving everyone to wonder what the hell is going on.

Lucas gets to the hospital in record time, breaking about 20 traffic laws on his way. He runs into the emergency room, and almost slams right into the detective. "Where is she?" Lucas asks, out of breath.

"She's in surgery right now. She was really banged up. A couple of kids fishing on the river found her. They pulled her into the boat and called the police." he tells him. "We're searching all the properties around the area where she was found. We'll find him, don't worry."

Lucas takes the elevator up to the appropriate floor and slumps into one of the chairs. He takes out his phone and calls his mom and fills her in on everything that he knows. Within half an hour, everyone is assembled in the waiting room, right along Lucas.

"Lucas Scott?"

Lucas looks up and sees a surgeon standing there holding a clipboard.

Yeah, I'm Lucas" he says.

"I'm Dr. Brady. Peyton was in pretty bad shape when she was brought in. Most of it was due to the fall into the river. She had massive head trauma, two collapsed lungs, and several broken bones. We went in and repaired all of the damage. Right now we have her on machines that are breathing for her. She's not out of the woods yet. The next 48 hours are crucial." the doctor explains.

He leads Lucas to the room in ICU that I'm in.

"Whoever did this to her had been slowly torturing her. She had multiple bruises and cuts on her arms, legs, chest, and neck. I'm shocked that she made it through all of that."

Lucas enters my room and sits by my bed. He looks around at all the machines that are hooked up to me. My face and arms are covered with bruises and cuts.

"Peyton...I don't know if you can hear me or not. You're okay now. You're safe. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you ever again. I'm gonna be here right by your side." Lucas whispers.

For the first time in almost five days, he falls asleep in the chair by my bed, holding my hand.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

"Lucas. Lucas...honey, wake up." Karen gently shakes her son.

He stirs slightly.

"I brought you some coffee." she says handing him a cup.

"Thanks." he replies.

Karen sits at the foot of the bed and takes my hand in hers. "You think she'll remember any of this when she wakes up?" she asks softly.

"I hope not, for her sake. I wish I could be so lucky." Lucas sighs.

One by one, everyone takes turns watching over me in the same chair that Lucas has been occupying. Before long, my room is filled with cards, flowers, balloons, and pictures. Everyone waits anxiously to see when I'll wake up.

Lucas is in with me yet again when a nurse enters the room. He gets up to leave but the nurse stops him. "It's okay, I'm just here to check her vitals." she says.

She checks the monitors and then takes out her penlight. She opens my right eye to check for any dilation, when suddenly I blink, scaring her almost to death.

"Peyton? Peyton, baby, come on. Wake up." Lucas pleads.

I open my eyes slowly and look around the room, wide eyed. I start to struggle, not knowing where I am, but then realize that there's a tube down my throat, therfore keeping my from going very far.

"It's okay. It's okay. You're in the hospital. Can you hear me? Blink once for yes, twice for no." the nurse says.

I blink once. I look over at Lucas and a tear falls from my eye. He kisses my hand as the tears fall freely from his cheeks. I close my eyes and wish I could scream. My whole body feels like it's being torn apart, and there's nothing I can do about it.

The doctor comes in and examines me a short while later, and decides to remove the tube down my throat. As it's removed, I cough and gasp for air.

"Water." I whisper. Lucas holds the straw up to my mouth and I drink slowly.

"Peyton, do you remember what happened?" the doctor asks.

I nod silently.

"We had to preform surgery to repair your lungs. We had to stop some of the internal bleeding, and we had to implant a metal rod in your leg." the doctor explains. So that's why I feel like I was pushed off of a cliff..._the cliff. The water...those kids pulling me into the boat..._"How long was I gone?" I ask. "Almost five days."

The doctor leaves and me and Lucas are alone. He caresses my cheek. "You have no idea how scared I was that I was going to lose you." he tells me. "I know. I was so scared. I didn't know how I was going to get out of there." I whisper.

Suddenly I feel really tired and I just succumb to it and fall asleep.

The next morning, I'm trying to eat a little bit, and having a hard time with it. My right arm is broken in three spots, and my left arm is just retarded. Brooke comes in and sits down.

"Hey buddy." she smiles.

I smile back at her. "Decided to give Lucas a break huh?"

"Yeah. The poor guy will probably never let you out of his sight again." she laughs.

"I actually don't think I would have a problem with that."

I lay back in the bed. I'm still on morphine so the pain is managable.

"The cops weren't in here for very long." Brooke says.

"I just told them everything I could about it..."

A tear slips down my cheek. "Why does this keep happening to me? I'm like a magnet for death and pain and horrible things. I just want to be a normal girl with a normal life. I don't want this black cloud hanging over me!"

Brooke hugs me softly as I cry into her shoulder.

"We're not going to let anything happen to you. None of us." she whispers.

Later that night, me and Lucas are in my room watching TV. "You need to shave." I tell him.

He chuckles. "Yeah, that really wasn't my top priority. I'll shave as soon as we get home tomorrow."

_Home _

"I'm not going to be worth a shit for a couple months. I hate this."

I have a cast on my left leg going from foot to knee, my right arm is in a cast all the way up to my shoulder, and my chest is all bandaged up from the repair on my lungs.

"Well, just think. You get to be waited on hand and foot. No pun intended." Lucas says.

"Ha...ha...ha."

The next morning, the doctor gives me one last exam and clears me to go home. He gives me a prescription for pain medication, two different antibiotics, and sleeping pills.

"You're a very brave girl" he tells me.

"Maybe brave, but not very smart." I say.

"How do you mean?" he asks.

"If I had just listened, I would have never gone out that night. And none of this would have happened."

"The important part is that you're alive. A little banged up, but alive. And that's all that really matters in the long run." he assures me.

The nurse helps me out of the bed and into the wheelchair and gets me loaded into Lucas' car. I fall asleep before we even leave the parking lot.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Three months pass, and I'm miserable. I've been stuck at home, not being able to do much of anything all laid up in bed. Not much you can accomplish with a broken arm and a metal rod in your leg.

"You ready to get that thing off?" Lucas asks, referring to my cast.

"Uh...yeah." I laugh.

We get in the car and drive to the doctor's office. He takes the cast off my arm and my leg. It feels really strange not having them stuck to me anymore.

After we get out of the doctor's office, we go out to lunch. It feels so nice to be outside and with my boyfriend and be normal for a day. I've been seeing a psychiatrist ever since I got out of the hospital. Everyone thought that it would be a good idea if I saw someone to talk about what happened instead of just keeping it all bottled inside. My dad was in the middle of a job when he found out about what happened and I had to convince him that I was fine, and that Lucas was keeping me under lock an key.

"So you wanna do something tonight?" Lucas asks.

"Can it involve being outside? Because that would rock. I can't get enough of this." I say.

"I think that can be arranged."

Suddenly my cell phone rings and I answer it.

"Hey Brooke"

"Hey blondie. Me and Haley were wondering if you wanted to come to the mall with us. We figured you deserved a shopping spree in honor of getting rid of those horrid casts." Brooke says.

"You're on. Me and Luke are at Karen's. Pick me up there?"

"Yep. See you in a bit."

We hang up.

"Looks like we might have to push our plans back a little bit. Brooke and Haley want to take me shopping." I tell Lucas.

He smiles and takes my hand.

"It's okay. Just be careful." he says.

Half an hour later, Brooke and Haley come pick me up at Karen's and we head off to the mall.

Karen leans on the counter next to Lucas.

"How's she doing?" she asks him

"I think she's going to be okay. She hasn't been having nightmares as much, and I think she's going to be a lot happier now that she won't have to be stuck in the house." he tells her.

"You guys have been through a lot in these past few months. I'm proud of you guys for sticking through it like you have."

"Yeah. Well, I better get going. I had Brooke and Haley take her shopping so I could get started on tonight's events." Lucas says.

Karen raises an eyebrow and Lucas smiles.

"Oh come on! Please just try it on!!" Brooke pleads.

I look at Haley hoping for some backup, but she raises her hands in the air. "Don't look at me. You're at her mercy." she giggles.

"Fine." I take the black bustier into the dressing room just to appease Brooke.

I come out and twirl around.

"Okay that is hot." Haley says, her jaw dropped.

"That's it. I'm buying it for you." Brooke excalims.

After three hours and a few hundred bucks later, we leave the mall and head over to Brooke's. She begs to do my hair and makeup.

"Brooke, I'm just going home. I'm going to look ridiculous wearing a dress and makeup just to sit around at home." I complain.

"Shut up! Lucas will love it. It's been three months since you guys...you know." she explains.

"Fine, mistress."

When Brooke gets done with my hair and makeup they give me the once over.

"Yep. Hot." Haley says.

They drive me home. When we get to the apartment, it looks totally dark. Inside I start to have a minor panic attack. I've had a problem with the dark ever since that night.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow." I wave as I get out of the car.

I unlock the door and realize that it's not dark, just dim. There are lit candles all over the house.

"Lucas?" I call

I smooth out the red dress I'm wearing.

There are rose petals all over the floor and I follow them into the kitchen.

I see Lucas standing in the kitchen holding a bottle of wine with a smile on his face.

He puts the wine down and walks towards me. We kiss softly and wrap our arms around each other. "That dress is amazing." he whispers. "You should see what's underneath." I giggle softly.

I look at the table and see that dinner is ready.

We sit down and eat dinner which is steak and potatoes with vegetables.

After we get done eating, Lucas stands up and holds out his hand. I take it and he leads me up to the bedroom. I gasp as I see more candles lit, rose petals on the bed, and a plate of strawberries on the nightstand. "Lucas..." I whisper but he silences me with a kiss.

I unbutton his shirt as we continue to kiss. I shiver as he unzips the zipper of my dress, brushing his fingers over my spine. My dress falls to the floor, revealing the black bustier that Brooke bought me earlier in the day. His eyes widen and I laugh.

We fall on the bed, all tangled up in each other.

Lucas takes a rose petal and traces my entire body with it, despite my begging.

Finally he surrenders and we start making love. The air is filled with our gasps, moans, breathing, and soft whispers. Afterwards, we lay in each other's arms, tired but content. I snuggle closer to Lucas so every part of our bodies are touching. "I love you so much." I whiper. Lucas kisses me on top of my head. "I love you too." he says. He stretches and goes to get up. I whimper. "Don't worry, I'll be back." he says. He goes downstairs and I wrap myself up in the sheet. I turn over towards the nightstand and smile when I see the picture of us in the frame. I turn back over when I feel Lucas slip back into bed with me.

"I have something for you." he whispers.

"Lucas...this is too much. You didn't have to." I say.

He reaches under his pillow and pulls out a black jewelry box. I gasp. "Lucas..."

"I've had this for about four months. And I decided that tonight was the perfect opportunity. Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer, I love you. We've been through a lot together, and you never fail to amaze me with how strong you are. You are the best part of me, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Tears are streaming down my cheeks but I make no move to wipe them away.

"Will you marry me?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

"Will you marry me?"

"Yes! Oh my God! Yes..." I exclaim. I'm laughing and crying at the same time and I can't get the smile off of my face.

Me and Lucas laugh and kiss and embrace. He pulls the one karat princess cut ring out of the box and slips it on my finger, kissing me again.

I hug Lucas tightly, not letting go. We're both thinking the same thing..._It doesn't get any better than it is right now._

We make love two more times that night before falling asleep in each other's arms.

I wake up the next morning to the sun streaming in the window. I hear Lucas downstairs so I wrap myself in the sheet and make my way down.

"Hey beautiful." he says.

"Hi...what are you doing?" I ask

"Making you breakfast. We have a big day ahead of us." he replies

I raise an eyebrow. "What do we have planned for today?"

"Well, we have to announce our engagement to everyone." he smiles.

I clap excitedly.

"Ooh, we have to call everyone and let them know to meet us somewhere. I want to tell everyone at once!"

"Already done. I made all the phone calls. We're supposed to be at the cafe' in an hour." Lucas says.

I shake my head laughing. "I guess great minds DO think alike."

An hour later, we arrive at the cafe'. Karen, Keith, Brooke, Haley, Nathan, Jamie, Skills, Mouth, and my dad are all waiting for us.

"So what's going on?" Nathan asks.

"Are you pregnant?!" Brooke asks excitedly.

Me and Lucas look at each other. "Go ahead, tell em." he says.

"We're engaged!!" I laugh, holding out my hand to show my ring.

Immediately, we're surrounded by hugs and kisses and congratulations.

Brooke hugs me, tears running down her face.

"You knew about this didn't you?" I ask with a smile.

"Lucas just told me to keep you busy yesterday. I had no idea he was going to do THIS!" she laughs.

Karen hugs me tightly. "I couldn't ask for a better daughter in law." she whispers.

Meanwhile, Keith hugs Lucas. "You did good kid. Real good." he tells Luke.

We all sit in the cafe' and talk for a while before I have to go to work.

When I get to THUD, I spread the news about the engagement and more congratulations are offered.

The whole time I'm working on my shift, the smile never leaves my face.

Me and Lucas jump into planning the wedding right away. We want it to be small, but amazing nonetheless. We set the date for August 10th, a little more than two months away. Brooke is making my dress, Karen has the cake all handled, we have a photographer, and the guys have their tuxes.

I'm in Brooke's bedroom, doing the final fitting for my gown. The wedding is tomorrow and I'm nervous as hell but exctied too.

I slip into the dress and look at myself in the mirror. Brooke sees a tear in my eye and panics.

"You don't like it?"

"No, it's not that. I love it. It's just overwhelming. I mean, I'm getting MARRIED tomorrow. I'm going to be Peyton Scott and not Peyton Sawyer anymore. It's just...whew." I laugh.

She hugs me tightly. "You are going to be amazing tomorrow. I can't think of any two people who deserve this more than you guys. You're marrying the guy of your dreams! No tears, at least until tomorrow, okay?"

I nod, and twirl around. "Yeah, I look hot."

I spend the night at Brooke's house, and Haley joins us for a girl's night complete with manicures and sappy chick flicks.

"If I eat anymore cookie dough, I'm not going to be able to fit in this dress" I laugh.

"You can never have too much cookie dough though." Haley protests.

We get into bed at about two AM, but I'm too excited to sleep.

I grab my cell phone and dial an all too familar number.

"Couldn't sleep either huh?" Lucas asks.

I smile. "No...I'm too excited." I tell him

"Yeah me too. You should sneak back home. The guys are already passed out." he says mischeviously.

"Not a chance. I don't want to break tradition and jinx ourselves." I laugh.

"Okay, well dream of me. I'll see you tomorrow at the church."

"Okay. I love you."

"I love you too babe."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

"P. Sawyer...get up. You're getting married today." Brooke whispers.

I open my eyes and smile when I see her with happy tears in her eyes. "No crying remember? At least not until the ceremony." I laugh. "I know, but God...you guys are getting MARRIED." she says.

"Well, we should get ready and head over to the church." I say excitedly.

Haley, Brooke, and I all get ready and drive over to the church. We're all going to be getting dressed and everything for the wedding in the small room that's been set up for us. Brooke gets started on my hair while Haley expertly applies my makeup. By the time all of that's done, we have twenty minutes before showtime.

Brooke and Haley help me into my dress and get it all zipped up. It's more than I could ever want. It's ivory and strapless with lace detail going all the way down to the train. It hugs my body in all the right places and I feel like a princess. I get all zipped up and we fix my veil. Once we're all dressed, the photographer comes in and takes a picture of all of us. I hear a knock on the door. "Peyton, sweetie, it's showtime." my dad says.

I take a shaky breath and Brooke takes my hands in hers. "You got this. You're going to be amazing." She kisses me on the cheek.

The wedding processional lines up. Lucas' sister Lily is our flower girl and Jaime is our ring bearer. Brooke is my maid of honor while Haley, my cousin Heather, and Bevin are my bridesmaids. Keith is Lucas' best man and Nathan, Skills, and Mouth are his groomsmen. Me and my dad get at the back of the line.

I can feel my dad staring at me. "What?" I ask laughing.

"I can't believe how much of a wonderful young woman you've become. You're mom would be proud. Both of them would be proud." he says. I feel a tear slip down my cheek and wipe it away as I hear the music start. Once everyone are in their places, the doors open and me and my dad make our way down the aisle to Lucas. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see everyone smiling and beaming, but I never take my eyes off of Lucas. I can see his breath catching and it makes me feel amazing knowing I can still take his breath away.

We finally reach the altar and the preacher asks, "Who gives this woman in marriage". My father steps up and says "I do" as he hands me over to Lucas. I hand my boquet of purple and white roses to Brooke and me and Lucas take hands and face each other. We both take a deep breath as the preacher starts.

"Dearly Beloved, we are gathered together here in the sign of God – and in the face of this company – to join together this man and this woman in holy matrimony, which is commended to be honorable among all men; and therefore – is not by any – to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly – but reverently, discreetly, advisedly and solemnly. Into this holy estate these two persons present now come to be joined. If any person can show just cause why they may not be joined together – let them speak now or forever hold their peace."

"Lucas and Peyton have written some words for each other that they would like to share before the vows. Lucas."

Lucas looks deep into my eyes and I feel as though he's piercing my soul. "Peyton, I've loved you from the first time I saw you. Your grace, your beauty, your strength, and most of all, your heart. We have been through so many things that have led us to this point, and I can't imagine anyone but you being by my side. You are the strongest person I know, but I want you to know that I'll always be right by your side in case you ever need saving."

I make no move to wipe my tears away. My heart is pounding so hard in my chest. "Lucas, you were the first person who has ever really been able to bring down my walls of defense. And I was terrified that I would end up getting hurt, but that never happened. Our fairy tale may not be a conventional one, but it's a fairy tale nonetheless. I can't wait to start my life with you as your wife, and someday be the mother of your children. I love you with all of my heart."

" Do you Lucas take Peyton to be your wife – to live together after God's ordinance – in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse, in sadness and in joy, to cherish and continually bestow upon her your heart's deepest devotion, forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto her as long as you both shall live?"

Lucas smiles at me with a tear in his eye. "I do."

" Do you Peyton take Lucas to be your husband – to live together after God's ordinance – in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse, in sadness and in joy, to cherish and continually bestow upon her your heart's deepest devotion, forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto him as long as you both shall live?"

"I do."

"May we have the rings?"

Jaime steps up proudly and hands us our rings.

Lucas slips the ring on my finger followed by my engagement ring. "I give you this ring as a sign of my love and as a symbol of our unity. With this ring, I thee wed."

I slip his ring on his finger and repeat the same words. "I give you this ring as a sign of my love and as a sign of our unity. With this ring, I thee wed."

"By the power invested in me by the state of North Carolina, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride."

Lucas lifts my veil and our lips meet, and for that 30 seconds or less, it's just us and nobody else.

The whole church erupts into applause and there's not a dry eye in the house.

As we leave the church to get into the limo, we're showered with purple and white rose petals, the color scheme for our wedding and reception. As we drive to the site of the reception, Lucas and I cannot stop kissing.

"I love you Mrs. Scott." Lucas whispers

"I love you too Mr. Scott." I whisper back.

When we walk into the reception hall, there's another huge round of applause as the DJ introduces us as the "Brand new Mr. and Mrs. Lucas Scott!" Lucas takes me in his arms for our first dance as husband and wife as the first chords of "I Could Not Ask For More" start playing. We look into each other's eyes the entire time, totally oblivious to the photograper or all of the guests watching.

Everyone else joins us out on the dance floor after our dance before dinner is served.

Keith taps his glass as the signal for a toast. "I held Lucas right after he was born. I've been there through his entire life, and I don't think I've ever seen him as happy as he is when he's with Peyton. They have overcome tremendous obstacles to get where they are today, and it's not only made them stronger as individuals, it's made them stronger as a couple. Lucas, this is probably the proudest moment of my life so far. And Peyton, you are an amazing woman and the other half of Lucas' heart. I wish you all the happiness in the world."

Brooke stands up next. Everyone knows that this will be the toast most likely to have us rolling with laughter. "Peyton and I have been best friends since we were five years old. That's a long time. She always had a thing for Lucas Scott, although she would never admit it if you asked her back then. But I knew her better than that. The three of us had a pretty rocky relationship, but in my heart I knew that they were meant to be together. And love that's meant to be always finds its way. So to Lucas and Peyton, may they have many happy years together and make babies with amazing looks and my sense of fashion." Everyone claps and raises their glasses. I stand up and hold Brooke close to me. "I love you B. Davis." I whisper through my tears. "I love you too P. Scott." she laughs.

The reception is more than I could ever ask for. All of our friends and family there to witness the love that Lucas and I share for each other. By the end of the night, we're both exhausted. We get in the limo and head to the hotel by the airport where our honeymoon suite is awaiting us. We check in and Lucas carries me to our room. I giggle. "Put me down, Lucas Scott!" I demand. "Not a chance." We get into the room and Lucas sets me down. I take a look around the inside of the room and gasp. "Wow..."

Amid the king size bed, there's dozens and dozens of purple and white roses, a bottle of champagne chilling in a bucket by the bed, candles everywhere, personalized robes and slippers, and a flat screen TV. Connected to the room is a enourmous bathroom with a shower stall and a huge jacuzzi.

Something catches my eye on the desk. I walk over and burst into laughter when I realize that it's a "boquet" with ribbons and inflated condoms. I read the note. "Enjoy your wedding night to the fullest. Have fun! Love, Nathan and Haley."

"So was it all that you hoped it would be?" Lucas asks me. I smile back at him. "Even if we had been married in your mom's backyard, it would have been perfect to me." I answer. He runs his fingers through my curls and kisses me softly. I wrap my arms around his neck, playing with his hakr. His fingers move to the zipper of my wedding dress, unzipping it slowly. I slip his tux jacket over his shoulders as we continue to remove each other's clothing.

Soon, we're both naked and just can't stop looking at each other with lust in our eyes. We fall back on the bed with him on top of me and continue kissing with the passion growing with each passing moment. His lips move from mine down my neck, to my collarbone, breasts, stomach, and farther. "Luke...please." I moan. Despite my protests, he takes his time, savoring ever inch of my body. I moan loudly as he takes my breast into his mouth, gently biting my nipple. I whimper softly.

Lucas positions himself over me and enters me slowly, taking his time and relishing the moment as if it is our first time. Which, in a way, I guess it is. We instantly begin moving together as one, both taking our time. Our moans and whispers of "I love yous" and "I need yous" are the only sounds. Our pace quickens as we both feel the end in sight. With one final thrust, Lucas collapses onto me. We're both sweating and exhausted, but feeling on top of the world.

We look into each other's eyes for a long time. "What?" I question when he stares a little too long. He smiles. "I don't think you've ever been as beautiful as you are now." My lips are slightly swollen from his assault on them, I'm wrapped up in the sheet, and my hair is a mess. But I couldn't care less.

Lucas and I lay in each other's arms for a long time afterwards, whispering to each other and sharing our hopes and dreams for the future, and talking about the honeymoon to Hawaii which we're leaving for tomorrow. We finally fall asleep around 6 am just as the sun is coming up.

**A/N: I thought this chapter went quite well. It just seemed to flow really easily. I hope you guys liked it!!! Sorry it took so long to update, I'm working with a very old/slow computer!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

When Lucas and I return from our honeymoon in Hawaii a week later, we come back with more crap than what we left with, which honestly, wasn't much. We basically spent the whole week either on the beach or in our hotel room overlooking the ocean. Our first stop is home so we can drop our stuff off, and then we head over to the cafe'.

When Karen sees us, she comes from behind the counter and gives us both kisses and hugs. I hug my dad. "I thought you guys weren't supposed to land until 4:30" he says. "We decided to take an earlier flight. We missed everyone." Lucas explains.

Karen fixes us all something to eat and we sit down and talk and share pictures from Hawaii. My horrible sunburn has finally turned into a tan and it looks pretty damn hot on me.

"So Karen and I both pitched in and got you guys a wedding present. We wanted to wait until you got back to give it to you." my dad explains. I raise an eyebrow. "What is it?" I ask. My dad tosses me and Lucas each a keyring with a key on it. "Okay, and this is to-??" I ask totally confused. I look at Lucas who looks just as baffled as me. Karen and my dad look at each other and smile. "Come on, lets take a ride." Karen says. We get in our car and drive to Market Street. We're stopped in front of a beautiful two story brick house complete with a garage and basketball hoop outside. "There it is." Karen says. Suddenly, it hits me like a ton of bricks. "You guys bought us a house?!" Lucas and I jump out of the car and run up to the front door. Lucas sticks his key in the lock and the door opens. We run in and look around. "Oh my God." he says in disbelief.

We're still in total shock as we walk around and explore all of the rooms. There's a huge living room and kitchen, a den, and a bathroom downstairs and upstairs there's the master bedroom/bathroom, two smaller bedrooms, and another bathroom. "That's way too many damn bathrooms to clean." I laugh. Me and Lucas come back downstairs. "So you guys like it?" my dad asks. "You guys, this is too much." Lucas says. "No, it's just enough. It's done, and there's nothing you guys can do about it." Karen says. We hug them both. "Oh, and there's a pool in the backyard." my dad laughs. I squeal.

After we get done at the house, we go see Brooke, Nathan, and Haley and tell them about the good news. "Wow, that kind of makes our gift seem kinda lame." Haley says. "Haley, a xbox 360 and PS3 is NOT lame." Lucas says seriously. "Yeah, I think we're gonna get more use out of that than the fancy china and silverware we got." I laugh. "So when's moving day?" Nathan asks. "Whenever we get all the crap in the apartment packed up." Lucas says. "We're gonna have to hire a moving company for the furniture and all the big stuff." I tell him. "Babe, we have me and Nathan. We can move anything." Lucas says. I roll my eyes. "Yeah and when you throw your back out moving that king size bed, I get to say 'I told you so'". I tell him.

When we get home that night, we start packing up what we can into boxes. It's a lot easier since we haven't even taken any of the wedding gifts out of the boxes yet. Nathan and Haley just dropped them all off at the apartment after the reception. "I can't believe that our parents bought us an entire house." I say. "Yeah my mom said the only condition was that we make her a grandma within two years." Lucas tells me. He slips his arms around my waist. "Well, with that big old house, we do have a lot of rooms that we have to christen, don't we?" I smile. Lucas leans down and kisses me softly. I smack him on the butt. "Back to work. I want to move in so we can get to christening." I tell him.

The next day we go to the hardware store and buy paint, brushes, rollers, and everything we need to give our new house a new look. Right now all the rooms are white and it's just too blah. By the time we're done, every room is a different color and has a different feel to it. The kichen is yellow and white, the living room done in beige and brown, the master bedroom and bathroom are done in a deep blue color, the den, which is doubling as my art room, is done in bright red. The downstairs bathroom is done in green and white and has an ivy theme, and the upstairs bathroom has an ocean theme. It's all really badass. With all of us working around the clock for almost two weeks, we finally get all moved in.

After we get all the furniture situated and everything just the way we want, we all collapse on the sofas in the living room. "I'm hungry." Jaime announces and we all laugh. "At least you didn't have to move a 800 lb bed." Nathan tells him while tickling him. "PIzza?" I ask. I get a unanimous "yes" from everyone. For the rest of the night, we just sit around and eat pizza and watch basketball on TV and talk.

Nathan and Haley head home a little later to put Jaime to bed, and Brooke ends up crashing on the sofa in the living room. Lucas and I turn off the TV and the lights and head upstairs to our new bedroom. I flop down on the bed and moan. "Yeah this bed is amazing. I don't think I could ever love anything more at this particular moment." "Hey." Lucas says feigning hurt. "Besides you." I laugh. He lays next to me. "Oh my God, I think you're right." he says as he stretches out. "I told ya."

This place is a mansion compared to our old apartment, and I'm still trying to get used to it. " I still have no idea what we're going to do with these two extra bedrooms." I say. "I was hoping for a nursery." Lucas says. I smile. "Baby, we're two weeks into being married. I kinda want to enjoy that for a while longer before we rush off and start having babies."I tell him. "I didn't mean right away. But someday." We kiss. "Yeah if you had it your way, I'd be pregnant right now." I giggle. "Yep."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

It's been three months since we moved into our new house and everything is just the way we want it. Lucas is working on having his novel published and I'm busy with my projects with **thud** and running Tric. We turned the house into an awesome "haunted mansion" for our halloween party, and Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner. "Babe, I'm gonna head down to Tric. I have to do some inventory and make up an order. If I don't do it tonight we're gonna be running out of booze by early this week." I tell Lucas. He pauses his video game. "You're going now?" he asks while glancing quickly at the clock. It's 9:30pm. "Yeah I'm not gonna be long. Owen's gonna be there with me so it'll be okay." I tell him. Owen is the bartender and Brooke's new flame. Lucas still doesn't seem convinced. "Listen, I'll call you when I get there okay?" "Okay. Be careful." he tells me. He gives me a kiss before I get in the car and head to the club.

As soon as I get inside, I say hi to Owen and then call Lucas.

"See, I got here safe and sound." I tell him.

"Listen, I know I seem like I'm worrying too much, but I can't help it. I just want you to be safe." he says.

"I know, and I love you for it. I'll be home in a little bit."

"Love you."

"Love you too. Bye."

I hop up on one of the barstools and Owen leans against the bar. "Man troubles?" he laughs.

"God bless my husband for worrying about me, but sometimes he just drives me crazy." I say.

"He wouldn't worry if he didn't love you." he points out.

"Okay, lets get this over with."

We get started taking inventory and ordering all the different types of booze that we're running out of as well as more glasses, napkins, ect. and I also work on booking bands for the next two weeks. When we get done, we sit and have a drink and talk for a while.

"So, how are you and Ms. Brooke doing?" I ask

"We're good. She's incredible. I don't think I've ever met anyone quite like her, which I still don't know if that's a good thing or not." he says

I laugh. "I don't think there's ANYONE in this world quite like Brooke. But she's an amazing person. She's been there for me through some of the darkest times in my life." I tell him

Just then I hear the door open.

"Lucas-" I start to say

"Peyton, it's almost one in the morning!" he says

I gasp. "Luke, I didn't realize how late it was, I'm sorry."

"I think I'm gonna go...do something." Owen says as he walks off.

"Dammit Peyton, you should have called. I was sitting at home wondering if something might have happened to you!" Lucas yells.

I throw my rocks glass agains the bar.

"Lucas, I'm not a child! Godammit! I have responsibilities. You knew exactly where I was and that there was someone here with me. You can't keep me under lock and key and watch me and protect me from everything that might hurt me!"

"Peyt-"

I grab my purse and get in my car and go home.

Owen walks back to the bar area and sees Lucas sitting there looking miserable. He pours Lucas a shot.

"You might need this for when you get home." he tells him.

"I'm not trying to keep her from living her life, I just want to protect her. I promised myself that after what happened and what she went through that I would never let anything happen to her again." Luke says.

"You can't protect her from everything though. I think she's finally let go of what happened. Maybe you should too." Owen says.

Lucas takes his shot.

"I think I better find another place to stay tonight. When she gets going, her temper gets the better of her." he says.

He calls Nathan.

"Hey, me and Peyton kind of got into it, and I think it would be in my best interest not to go home tonight. I don't want anything thrown at my head." he tells Nate.

"Yeah, come on by. I'm still up." Nathan says.

When Lucas gets over to Nathan's place, there's a beer waiting for him.

"So what'd you do this time?"

"Peyton went to Tric to do inventory and lost track of time. I got paranoid when she didn't call and went to the club and kind of flipped out on her. But she one upped me and broke a rocks glass and yelled louder." Lucas tells him.

"Peyton's a big girl man. You're her husband, not her keeper."

" I know...I just can't shake that feeling I get every time she goes out and it's late. I just keep remembering what happened and what she went through. I'm just trying to protect her from that happening again."

Nathan slaps Lucas on the back.

"Pillows and blankets are on the sofa. I recommend getting flowers before you go home tomorrow."

Lucas chuckles. "Thanks little brother."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

When Lucas wakes up, Nathan, Haley, and Jaime are already up and eating breakfast. "Hey." Lucas says as he walks into the kitchen rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Hey. So I hear you and Peyton had quite the blowout last night." Haley says. Lucas shoots Nathan a dirty look and Nathan just shrugs. "I'm an idiot. I know this." Lucas says.

"I better call her and let her know that I'm here." he says.

"Already called her last night and she didn't sound too happy. She told us to keep you for all she cared." Nathan says.

"Wow, that's heartwarming."

After breakfast, Lucas gets in his car and drives home. As soon I hear his key in the lock, I inadvertantly grit my teeth. I go back to working on my sketch and a minute later, I hear him come downstairs. "Hey." "Hey." I say through clenched teeth.

"Peyton, I'm sorry about last night. I really am. I need to stop being so protective of you, but I can't help it." he tells me.

I spin around in my chair. "Luke, I know that you worry about me. And I know that you don't want anything bad to happen to me. It took me a long time to even be able to be outside when it was dark without freaking out. It took me a long time to even be able to walk into **thud** without having a fucking panic attack."

I lift up my shirt to expose the scar down the middle of my chest where the doctors repaired my lungs. "I'm reminded of that night every time I go to get dressed, every time I take a shower. He made sure I had scars so that I would never forget. You think I don't worry about you? You don't think I remember all the times I almost lost YOU? The car accident, the shooting, the heart attack. We've done enough fucking worrying to last us a lifetime!"

I take a deep breath and try and recover from my rant. I look at Lucas who's hanging his head. I grab his hand. "Listen to me. I love you for worrying about me but you're not the only one who worries. I'm sorry that I didn't call last night. But you gotta cut me a little bit of slack." I tell him softly.

We both stand up and hug. "I love you too much to risk losing you." Lucas says.

"I know. Same goes for you too." I tell him.

A month later Lucas gets a call from a publisher in New York City who wants to publish his book. After he gets off the phone he rushes into the bathroom where I'm taking a shower. "Peyton! Peyton!! They want to publish it!" he yells as he bursts through the door. I shut off the water and jump in Lucas' arms soaking wet. "Baby, I'm so proud of you! What did he say?" "He wants me to come up to New York on Friday. Come with me." he says. I laugh. "Okay." I kiss him softly. "I"m so happy for you babe." I tell him.

It suddenly dawns on him that he's holding a very naked, soaking wet me in his arms. We kiss again softly. He sets me back on my feet and he pulls his shirt off while I work on unbuttoning his pants. I turn the shower back on and we let the hot water run over us as we continue kissing urgently. He runs his fingers through my hair and I pull him closer to me.

Lucas slips two of his fingers inside of me and I moan. I grab onto his shoulder for support to keep my knees from buckling underneath me. "Lucas, please..." I moan softly. We move against the shower wall and he enters me slowly, savoring it. I try and rush him but he just smiles, teasing me. FInally he enters me all the way and he slowly brings me over the edge over and over again. With one final thrust, he collapses against me, shuddering. I reach down and touch him, causing another orgasm. He moans my name and I smile.

We get out of the shower and make love one more time on the bed, totally soaking the sheets but not really caring.

Afterwards, we lay in bed wrapped up in the sheets and each other. I lay my head on Lucas' chest and sigh contently. "What are you thinking about?" he asks me. I prop myself up on my elbow and look at him. "About how lucky I am to have such a hot husband, who's soon to be a published novelist." I tell him. He smiles.

"This is something that you've worked so hard for. All the interviews, the letdowns, and it's finally happening. You poured your whole heart and soul into that book, and everyone should know what a great writer you are."

"Yeah, well, that book wouldn't exist without you. So everything that's happening I owe to you." Lucas tells me.

I brush his hair out of his eyes. "I was just the inspiration. You were the one that made it what it is now. This is yours."

Thursday night we fly out to New York and check into our hotel. "We've had more hotel stays in the past few months than I think we've had in the past three years." I laugh. "At least it's a chance to have you in a new place." Lucas says winking. I laugh. "Perv."We go out to dinner and to a club to have a few drinks before calling it a night.

The next morning we drive to the publisher's office in the heart of the city. We get called in and we sit down with the editor, Kelly. "Hi, I'm Kelly Turner." she says shaking both of our hands. "I'm Lucas Scott, this is my wife, Peyton." Lucas says.

She smiles. "I was hoping that I'd get a chance to meet you. I was pulling for you guys in the book and I'm really happy that you guys made it." she tells me. I smile proudly.

We sit down. "Let me start off by saying that I read your manuscript in one night. I just couldn't stop reading it. It's been a long time since anything has come across my desk with such heart and raw emotion. Your words made me feel like I was there along with you through it all, and that's hard to find. I've already talked to my boss and we've both agreed that we would like to publish your book. We can email you the final drafts and you can make any changes you feel necessary, so you won't have to travel back and forth from North Carolina to here. We want to produce it in both hard and softcover, and once it's published and is released, we will be doing book tours and signings." she tells us.

I don't think that I've ever seen Lucas look so happy. He squeezes my hand tightly. Before we leave, Kelly shakes both of our hands again. "Congratulations Mr. Scott." she says. "Thank you for making a dream come true." he tells her.

When we get outside, he stops and takes a deep breath. "Did that just actually happen? Or was it just a hallucination or something?" he asks me. "No, it really happened. Honey, the book is being published! The whole world is going to be reading our story." I tell him. He hugs me tightly. "I think we should celebrate. Come on." I tel him as I hail for a cab.

We spend the rest of the day shopping and sightseeing and making phone calls sharing the news with everyone back home. We head back to the hotel to get changed before we head out to dinner. I get out of the shower and change into a slinky black dress that I bought and my black heels. I come out of the bathroom and Lucas stands up, amazed. "Wow...you look incredible in that dress." he says. "Enjoy it now because it'll probably end up on the floor later." I tell him with a gleam in my eye. He groans as I pull him out the door. We go to dinner at one of New York's fanciest restaurants and order an expensive bottle of champagne and our dinner. "Here's to new beginnings and dreams coming true." I toast. "Here's to my muse." Lucas says. We clink glasses and take a sip of our champagne.

When we get back to the hotel, we're both pretty bubbly. We get back in our room and Lucas goes to pour us more champagne. While he has his back turned, I slowly start unzipping my dress. He turns back around just as it hits the floor. I have on lacy black lingerie complete with a black garter belt and stockings. The champagne glass that he was holding crashes to the floor and I raise an eyebrow. "Pretty good huh?" All Lucas can do is nod "yes" repeatedly.

I push him back on the bed and make work of removing his clothes verrrry slowly. I unbutton his shirt, running my hands over his chest softly. "Peyt-" he moans softly. I smile and continue a little quicker until we're both naked.

Three hours later, I'm fast asleep on Lucas' chest with my hair all wild around me. Lucas strokes my arm as he thinks to himself. _This is is going to be the day that changes our lives_.

Little does he know it's not for the reason that he thinks.

**A/N: Thanks for all of the wonderful reviews! I'm really pleased with how this chapter and the whole story are turning out. Don't forget to check out my other new story that's in progress 'I'm a fool for loving you'!! And don't forget to give me your opinions on the story and any recommendations you have!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

It's been two months since we found out that Lucas' book is being published and it's such a crazy and exciting time for us.The book is due out on the shelves in three weeks and neither one of us can wait. It's like waiting for a baby to be born.

Lucas sits typing on his laptop trying to concentrate on last minute details of the book but he can't. I'm in the bathroom throwing up again, like I have been for the past three days. _This cannot be good_ he thinks to himself. He hears the toilet flush and then the sound of me brushing my teeth. I come out of the bathroom and collapse on the bed and bury my face into my pillow.

"Okay, you really need to go to the doctor. This is the third day that you've been sick. I'm really worried about you hun." Lucas tells me.

"I made an appointment with Dr. Gray this afternoon. I'm sure it's nothing. But I want to see if he can at least tell me something I can take to stop me from puking all the time."

"Good."

I fall asleep for a little while before my appointment. When I wake up, Lucas is fast asleep next to me with his arm over my waist, holding me protectively. I get up and put on my shoes and head to the doctor's office.

When I walk out of the doctors office an hour later, I'm in total shock. I sit in my car for ten minutes before my hands stop shaking long enough for me to put the key in the ignition. I drive home, speeding the whole way. My hands won't even stop shaking long enough so I can put my key in the lock.

I run upstairs to find Lucas working on his laptop again. "Hey." He puts the computer on the night table. "What'd the doctor say?" he asks. I sit on the edge of the bed and take a deep breath. Suddenly a tear slips down my cheek. Lucas sits up and hugs me tightly. "Peyton, what is it? What did he tell you?" I look into his eyes and smile slightly. "I'm pregnant." I whisper.

"What?" he whispers, almost disbelieving.

"I'm pregnant. The doctor said I'm ten weeks." I tell him

Now it's his turn to cry. He hugs me tightly stopping to kiss me over and over again. "Baby this is amazing. God that never even crossed my mind. I'm so happy right now." he tells me.

"So now I guess New York will not only be known as the place where your book was published but also where we concieved our baby." I laugh.

He takes a deep breath. "This is incredible."

"I honestly didn't know how you would feel about it." I admit softly.

"What do you mean?" he asks I sit next to him on the bed.

"Everything is happening so quickly. The wedding, the new house, your book being published and now a baby. I mean, you have so much going on for you with the book, I didn't want to ruin that for you, or get in the way of it." I explain.

Lucas cups my face in his hand. "Peyton, ever since we've been together I've wanted nothing more than to have a family with you. You know that. Right now, I could care less about what's going on with the book. We can make it work. All I'm concerned about is that my wife is carrying our child."

I smile. "I guess it's time for another group meeting for another big announcement."

Lucas laughs. "Yeah I guess it is. You call Nathan and Haley and Brooke and I'll call my mom and Keith."

Half an hour later, we're all assembled at the cafe' and everyone is waiting to hear what's going on.

"Okay guys, what's the big news this time? So far we've gone through a wedding, a new house, and a novel being published. There's nothing left!" Haley says.

I look up at Lucas and we both smile. He squeezes my hand. "We're pregnant. We're having a baby." he announces.

All we hear is happy cries of "Oh my God!" throughout the cafe. Karen and Keith run up and hug us both around the neck. "Well that was quick." Keith laughs. I blush as Lucas hugs his dad. Karen hugs me tightly. "I am so happy for you guys. You're going to make an amazing mother. You guys are going to be wonderful." she says. We're both crying. Keith wraps me in a tight hug. "You're the best thing that ever happened to him Peyton. Everyone knows that. We couldn't be happier for you guys."

I hug Nathan and Haley. "See, now I get to make fat jokes about you." Haley teases. I stick my tongue out. Nathan hugs me again. "I can't believe it. Peyton Scott, a mom." he says. "I know...this is definitely going to be an experience." I tell him

A week later, Lucas goes with me to my first OB appointment. I put on a gown and lay on the table waiting for the doctor to come in. When she comes in, she shakes both of our hands. "Mr. and Mrs. Scott, I'm Dr. Lopez. I'll be taking care of you during your pregnancy and delivering your baby." she says. She does the internal exam and tells us what Dr. Gray told us, that I'm eleven weeks along. "The baby was probably concieved mid January." she tells us. We look at each other and smile. _Yep, it was in New York_ She pulls a machine over to my bed and lifts up the gown. She spreads a thin layer of gel on my stomach and moves a wand around looking for a heartbeat. When she finds it, the sound fills the room "That's the heartbeat?" Lucas asks softly. I have tears in my eyes. Hearing this just makes it real and it hits me like a ton of bricks. "Yes, it is. It's nice and strong. You have no health problems, you're young. You should have a totally healthy pregnancy." the doctor tells us. I get dressed and we make another appointment for four weeks from now.

When we get home, we sit down in the living room. "So what did Kelly say when you told her?" I ask Lucas. "She was thrilled. I told her that any signings or appearances out of state, you were coming with me. She told me that it would all be arranged and there wouldn't be a problem." he tells me. I snuggle up to him. "Being grown ups kind of hit us hard huh?" I ask laughing. "We're basically just the same as we were in high school. Except the fact that we're married and have bills and our own place and we're having a baby." he says.

I look up at him with my eyebrow raised. "Yeah, it hit kind of hard." he laughs.

He puts his hand on my still flat stomach. "You, little one, are going to be the start of an awesome adventure."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

May arrrives and I enter my second trimester. Lucas' book is about to be published, I'm over my morning sickness finally, I'm now the sole owner of Tric after Karen handed over the reigns to me, and life is good. Lucas comes in our bedroom one afternoon to find me measuring my stomach with a measuring tape. "God, if this keeps up, by the time I'm due I'm gonna be the size of a whale." I complain. Lucas laughs. "So guess where we're going today." he says. "Five months to the future so I can have this baby?" I guess. "No. We're going to look at furniture for the nursery!" he tells me. I clap my hands excitedly. "That's almost just as good." I tell him. 

When we get to the furniture store, I'm kind of overwhelmed. We only have a few things for the baby already like outfits, a changing table, diapers, and stuff like that. We don't have a crib, a bassinet, all the big stuff. "Wow, who knew that our baby would have better furniture than us?" Lucas jokes. I smile. One of the sales women greets us and we sign up for a credit card through the furniture store and get approved for 4000. "Okay, that will definitely help out." I say, relieved. First we go look at the cribs, and we decide on a beautiful one with a cherry finish, along with some sage green bedding and a mobile. We get a padded rocking chair, a baby dresser, a baby lamp, and my favorite, a round bassinet with a canopy. We don't know if we're having a boy or a girl yet, so we decided to make the nursery a neutral color, that being green.

The delivery people follow us home and we spend the rest of the night putting together the furniture and setting it up. 

"So what do you think we're going to have? Boy or girl?" I ask Lucas.

"I don't know. Boys seem to run rampant in my family, so I'm actually hoping for a girl." he says.

"I could have it either way. I'm kind of hoping for a boy though, just for the simple fact that you don't have to go through make up, boys, periods, mood swings, and all that with them." I laugh.

Lucas finally gets the crib put together after two attempts, and we stand back and admire our work. The walls have already been painted green, we're just trying to decide on a theme to do some murals on the walls.

"So what do you think?" Lucas asks.

"Looks amazing. I'm sure he or she will love it." I tell him. 

June 6th, Lucas and I head off to the doctor's office once again for my check up and another ultra sound. "Ya know, I've been thinking about asking Dr. Lopez to move in with us. Just for the simple fact that we're here all the time." Lucas laughs. 

We get in the office and sign in and wait to be called.

"Hey, Peyton, Lucas. How are we feeling today?" the doctor asks.

"No complaints just yet. Wait until it gets a little warmer outside and then I'll probably have a few." I tell her.

"Have you been feeling the baby move?" she asks.

"Just little movements here and there. Nothing major." 

She has me lay back on the table for the ultrasound. I can't believe how much bigger the baby has gotten since my first ultrasound. "Would you guys like to know the sex of the baby?" she asks us. I look at Lucas and he smiles.

"Yeah." Lucas tells the doctor.

"Looks like you guys are going to have a baby girl."

I break out into a smile so wide I feel like my face is going to split in half. I told Lucas that I wanted a boy, but hearing that we're going to have a baby girl just makes my heart break. Lucas hugs me tightly. I bury my face into his neck and sniffle as tears run down my cheeks. Just then, I feel the baby really kick for the first time. 

The docotor laughs as she sees the baby kick on the monitor. "Looks like she wanted her presence to be known." she tells us. 

When we leave the doctor's office, we head over to the cafe' to tell Karen the good news.

"Hey Keith. How've you been?" I ask him

"Never better. How bout you? You feeling okay?" he asks me.

"Just very pregnant. But we got some big news today." I tell him. 

"Oh yeah?" Karen says. "So what's the word? Pink or blue?"

"Pink. It's a girl." Lucas tells her. She jumps up and down and hugs me. "Yeah that was pretty much my reaction. Just more internal." I laugh.

"Do you know how long it's been since a baby girl has been born in the Scott family? Too damn long." Keith says.

"Well I'm here to change that. And she's gonna be the one to bring down the Scott men." I say laughing.

That night while Lucas is sleeping, I sneek out of bed and into the nursery. I sit in the rocking chair that's waiting to be used, and think about how I'm going to be a mother to a beautiful baby girl in a few short months. Suddenly inspiration strikes and I grab my paintbrushes and some paint and start working on the mural. I work for about five hours just listening to music and painting freehand and thinking. When Lucas wakes up in the morning, he sees me laying next to him passed out with paint smudges all over me.

Curiously, he opens the door to the nursery and gasps as he steps inside. On the walls are images from every child's fairytale. There's a castle with Rapunzel letting her hair down, Bambi, butterflies, flowers, dragonflies, words of inspiration, and on one of the walls are the words "Welcome to the world Little Miss Scott" at the top and the rest of the wall left blank. He smiles to himself. He notices a picture sitting on the dresser and picks it up. "Wow." he whispers. It's a picture of Lucas and I at the beach at the party right before Senior year. We're both smiling and just look so thrilled to be with each other.

He looks around the room one last time before shutting the door and coming back to bed to lay with me.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

The next morning, I wake up and find Lucas starting down at me, smiling. "You know, it's kind of creepy when you do that." I tell him, smiling. "Yeah, well. I can't help but stare at the most beautiful girl in the world." he tells me. I roll my eyes. "I love you for a liar." I laugh. I get out of bed and stretch. Lucas notices my shirt rise a little and catches a glimpse of my growing tummy. He gets out of bed and comes up behind me and holds me. "You are beautiful, no matter how pregnant or miserable you get. And our daughter is going to be just as beautiful as you are." he whispers. He places his hands on my tummy.

"I saw the nursery last night. It's amazing." Luke tells me.

"Yeah. I was sitting in there just daydreaming and looking foward to meeting her, and I just felt like painting. Except instead of my sketchbook, I used the walls." I tell him.

"What's the blank wall for?"

"I thought it would be really cool for everyone to paint a message up there for the baby. That way she'll know how many people love her." I explain.

I turn around and wrap my arms around Lucas. "You know, I'm really happy. Even though all of this happened kind of fast, and I said that I wanted to wait before we got pregnant, I'm thrilled about it. I can't wait to meet our baby." I whisper.

"Neither can I."

Suddenly we hear the door open and somone bouding up the stairs. Anyone with that much bounce in their step that early in the morning could only be one person.

"Hey, P. Scott. Hey, Luke." Brooke says.

"Nice of you to knock Brooke." Luke says.

"Peyton gave me a key in case I ever needed a place to crash." she explains.

"What's up?" I ask, sitting down on the bed.

"Well, Nathan, Haley, and I were thinking about a road trip up to Charlotte. Catch a basketball game, hit the beach, go shopping. You guys up for it?" she asks.

"When?"

"Kinda sorta now." she says smiling innocently.

Luke smiles. "Nothing like the spur of the moment, huh?"

Me and Luke get dressed and pack our bags and head outside.

"Hey preggers." Haley says.

"Gee, thanks. I was never this mean to you when you were knocked up." I tell her as we hug.

"Eh, just trying it out."

We make the two hour drive up to Charlotte, stopping five times so I can pee. When we get there, we check into our hotel, and get ready to go to the beach.

"Hey, not too bad." I say as I check myself out in the mirror. I bought a maternity swimsuit and it actually looks pretty rockin on me. "Mmm, 'not too bad' is right." Lucas says as he smacks my ass.

"Hey, watch it mister. And you wonder how I got pregnant." I laugh.

Lucas kisses me passionately. "Why don't you remind me?" he whispers inbetween kisses.

"I was hoping you'd say that."

Forty five minutes later, we emerge from our hotel room and meet up with the others in the lobby

"Hey, what took you guys so long?" Haley asks.

"Um, we were just getting unpacked." I say

"Ew. It does not take 45 minutes to get unpacked for a two day trip. No wonder you're pregnant." Brooke laughs.

I playfully shove her as we head out the door.

When we get to the beach, I spend some time in the water splashing around with Jaime and Haley and having fun.

After a while, I get out of the water, and sit down on a beach blanket by Nathan.

"Hey, how you feeling Peyt?" he asks.

"Pretty good. I'm getting really excited. I can't wait to meet this little one." I tell him

"Trust me, it'll come quicker than you think. When Haley was pregnant, it went by so fast. Jaime was here before I even had time to blink." he tells me.

"I know. But you know me, Mrs. Impatient." I laugh.

"So you and Luke are good? Everything's good?"

"Yeah." I say, rubbing my belly. "Everything's great."

For the next two days, we just chill out, go shopping, go out to eat, catch a few games, and just have fun. I enjoy myself as much as possible because I know I won't have a chance to get out and do this once the baby arrives.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

"Happy Birthday beautiful." Lucas whispers in my ear. I groan and roll over. "Luke, it's 7am, why are you awake? More importantly, why am I awake?" I ask rubbing the sleep from my eyes. "You're awake because I went out and got you a big birthday breakfast, and I have a lot of surprises for you today." Lucas tells me.

I get up and follow him to the kitchen where there's a bowl of strawberries and grapes (my favorite), and a big plate of belgium wallfles with a candle sticking up from them. I laugh and hug Lucas. "You're nuts." I sit down and blow out the candle. "What did you wish for?" he asks me. "Like I'm gonna tell." He sits down next to me at the table and starts drinking his coffee, which I'm looking at longingly. Lucas stops mid-sip when he catches me ogling his cup of coffee. "Sorry." I groan. I haven't had soda, coffee, Red Bull, nothing since the day I found out I was pregnant." "I can make you some decaf." he offers. I roll my eyes. "What's the use of that? Black water, that's it."

I wince as the baby kicks really hard. "Oh my God, gimme a break little girl." I say to my stomach. She just keeps on kicking.

"Active today, huh?" Luke asks.

"Yeah, I could barely sleep last night. She was doing somersaults in there." I tell him.

I finish breakfast and look at Lucas expectantly. "So what's next on the birthday agenda?" "Well, I figure since we've been raking in some nice amounts of money due to my book, I'd treat you to a day of shopping. We can go anywhere you want." he tells me. "Wow, major brownie points. The only way I'd love you more is if you could carry this baby for me." I laugh.

We get dressed and head off to the mall. Lucas sits patiently while I get my hair and my nails done, and as we roam the countless stores looking for stuff to buy. I go into Motherhood Maternity and get a couple more pairs of comfty maternity pants and a couple of tops, and then to BabyGap to get some outfits for the litte one that'll be here shortly. The remainder of my shopping is done at Best Buy (gotta have music to load to my Ipod for when I go into labor) and Babies R Us. Lucas laughs at me because instead of buying stuff for myself, I'm doing all the shopping for the baby.

When we get done shopping, we stop by Karen's for lunch. Karen comes out from behind the counter and hugs me and Lucas. "My God, look at you! How much longer do we have to go?" she asks me. "One more month." I tell her. "Uh oh. You ready?" she asks both of us. I say "absolutely" while Lucas says "uh uh". He's still really nervous at the prospect of being a dad. I hug Keith. "How's that little girl doing?" he asks me. "I think she's pissed because she's running out of room to move around." I tell him. He helps me up into a stool. "So, what can I get the birthday girl for lunch?" Karen asks me. I lean in towards her so Lucas can't hear. "What can I do to bribe you for a cup of coffee?" I whisper. She smiles and motions me back behind the counter. "I'm gonna show Peyton tomorrow's plans for dessert. Be back in a minute." Karen tells the guys. We go back into the kitchen and she pours me a cup of coffee. I take a sip and sigh happily. "Oh God, this is what Heaven must be like." "Lucas won't let you have a cup every now and then?" Karen asks. I nod. "Nah, he's all into doing EXACTLY what the baby books say. No coffee, no soda, no hot showers, and so on." I tell her. "I drank coffee all the time when I was pregnant with Lucas." she tells me. Just then, Keith comes back in the kitchen and I look like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Busted." he says, laughing.

"Please don't tell Lucas. I'll never hear the end of it." I tell him.

"My lips are sealed." Keith tells me.

I finish my cup of coffee and we go back into the main part of the cafe'.

After we get done eating, Karen brings a box out from under the counter. "This is for you guys. I had some free time on my hands so I thought this would be nice for the baby." she tells me.

I open the box and pull out a beautiful pink blanket. Each square is a different kind of fabric with pink in it. "Karen, you made this?" I ask. "Well, I was kind of hoping for a boy because I was going to make one out of Lucas' old baby clothes, but I went to the fabric store and just got every kind of pink fabric they had." she tells us.

"Mom, this is amazing. Thank you so much." Lucas says.

I get up and hug her tightly. "I couldn't ask for a better mother in law." I tell her. She kisses my cheek. "I couldn't ask for a better daughter in law either." she whispers. I feel the tears start to well up in my eyes. "Hey, don't cry." she tells me. "I know, it's stupid. It's just so beautiful. I couldn't love anything more." I say, wiping away my tears.

"There go the hormones." Lucas tells Keith.

"That bad?"

"Not all the time. But God forbid she watches a sad movie or hears a sad song. She goes straight for the Kleenex." Lucas tells him.

"You can't really blame her though. This is a big step in you guys' life. And I couldn't be more proud of either one of you." Keith says.

After we leave Karen's we go home so I can take a nap for a while. Lucas lays down next to me and he tolds me as close as my huge belly will allow. "I love you so much, Peyton." he whispers as he brushes a strand of hair out of my face. I smile. "I love you too, Luke." "I know that this hasn't been easy on you. Me being away for the book and everything, but I want you to know that I'm always gonna be here. I never want you to feel alone." he tells me. "I know. I'm so proud of you for all the things that you've accomplished. And I'm proud of you for being an amazing husband and an awesome father to be. I mean, how many guys would run out constantly at four am to get pickles and peanut butter?"

He laughs. Well if you think I'm amazing now, you ain't seen nothin yet. Just wait until tonight." he tells me.

I clap excitedly.

"That can wait. Just try and get some sleep. I know that you must be exhausted."

Five minutes later, I'm out like a light. I've been pretty energized through the entire pregnancy, but lately I just feel like the baby is zapping all the energy that I have.

I wake up three hours later, and Lucas is just coming out of the shower. I whistle and he laughs. "So how long until my next surprise?" I ask. "Well, as soon as you get out of the shower and get ready, we can go." Lucas tells me. "Hmmm...you should've woken me up when you were getting into the shower. We could have saved a ton of water." I tell him. "Water, yes. Time, no." he laughs.

I get up, get into the shower, and 15 minutes later, I'm standing in front of the closet debating on what to wear. "Luke, dress up or down?" I yell to him downstairs. "Up!" he yells back. I grumble. When Lucas comes back upstairs, I'm dressed up in a black maternity dress and black heels and I'm doing my hair. "Wow, you look gorgeous." he says as he kisses my cheek. I finish up, even with Lucas kissing my neck and trying to distract me. When we get into the car, he turns towards me and looks like he doesn't exactly know what to say. I notice the expression on his face, and do an internal "uh oh". "What?" I ask hiim. "I hate to do this to you, but I'm gonna have to blindfold you." he tells me smiling. "What?!" I protest as he ties the blindfold around my eyes. I sit back in the seat, dejected, as we drive to his surprise spot. I finally hear the car shift into park, and my door opens. Lucas helps me step out of the car. "Okay, can I take this thing off yet?" "No...just a little farther. Come on." After walking up a bunch of stairs, we finally stop. "You know, you're brave making a pregnant girl walk up a flight of stairs blindfolded." I laugh. "I wouldn't let anything happen to you." he tells me

Lucas finally takes the blindfold off of me, and I gasp. Tric is filled with everyone I know and love. "Happy Birthday Peyton!!" they all yell. I laugh and hug Lucas tightly. "Luke, this is amazing." I look around the club and the stage is all set up with band equipment, there's candles lit around the whole club, and there's a bunch of food and a huge cake set up on tables. "Happy Birthday Peyton." I hear a voice say. I turn around to see who it is, and stop dead in my tracks. "Oh my God, Derek! How did you-" I laugh as he hugs me tightly. "Lucas called me and told me that he was throwing a surprise party for you, and I wouldn't miss it. Especially now that I'm out of the Marines." he tells me. I hug him again tightly. "This night is perfect."

Nathan comes over and hugs me. "Happy Birthday Sawyer." he tells me, kissing the top of my head. "Thanks, buddy." I tell him. I turn my attention to the stage, where Haley is sitting with her guitar strapped on. "Hey guys. We're about to cut the cake, but before that why don't you all help me sing "happy birthday" to our best friend, Petyon Sawyer!" he says over the mic. I hide my face as everyone starts singing. Lucas wraps his arms around my waist as I listen to everyone singing "happy birthday" to me. Once everyone finishes singing, I blow out the candles on the chocolate cake topped with strawberries. Everyone claps and we cut the cake.

After we open presents (which are mostly for the baby, but I get some awesome ones too), Lucas gets up on the stage, and I'm really curious as to what he has planned next. "As you know, we're all here to celebrate my beautiful wife Peyton's birthday. As all of you also know, Peyton loves music. It's the biggest part of who she is, so I made a few calls for this special occasion. We have a great evening planned for you guys, so give it up for the first band playing tonight, Jack's Mannequin!" Lucas says over the mic. I cover my mouth to stifle a scream. I jump out of my seat and throw my arms around Lucas as he makes his way towards me. "How on earth did you pull this off without me knowing?" I ask him. "I had a little help." he says, motioning towards Nathan, Haley, and Brooke. We sit down and listen to the band. I'm even more surprised when Fall Out Boy takes the stage, followed by our very own Haley James Scott.

After everyone leaves the club, we're all sitting down on the couches in the VIP section, relaxing. "So P. Scott, good birthday?" Brooke asks me. "You guys, this was the best birthday I've ever had. I can't thank you guys enough." I tell them. I go around and hug all of them tightly.

"Well, if memory serves, we have a few more surprises up our sleeves." Nathan says, rubbing his hands together. We all get into our respective cars and make our way back to me and Lucas' house.

Lucas leads me upstairs to the nursery. Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Skills, Owen and Derek aren't far behind us. "Remember how you said you left a wall of the nursery blank so everyone could write a welcome message to the baby? Well, since we already picked the baby's name, I thought that this would be a perfect time to surprise you with it. I hope you like it." Lucas says. He opens the door to the nursery and I step inside and start crying when I see the wall. Everyone has a picture on the wall, and their message is written underneath it.

Nathan and Haley: Hey Brooklyn! We are so excited to meet you, and so are your mommy and daddy. Always remember to follow your dreams, because if you work hard and believe in yourself, they DO come true! We love you! Love, Uncle Lucas and Aunt Haley

Brooke: Hey sweetie. I am so honored that your mommy and daddy decided to name you party after me. Me and your mommy are like sisters, and I can tell you right now that she is so happy that you're coming. I can't wait until you're old enough so I can take you shopping! Smile pretty girl! Love, Aunt Brooke.

Skills: Hey shorty. Just remember, if you ever need help learning how to shoot a three pointer, come see your Uncle Skills. See you when you get here! Uncle Skills.

Owen: Brooklyn, your mom and dad are so crazy about you even though you're not here yet. You couldn't have gotten cooler parents, so don't be too hard on them! Can't wait to see you! Uncle Owen.

Karen and Keith: Hey baby girl. We're so proud that we're grandparents, and we know that you are going to be spoiled rotten. We love you! Grandma and Grandpa.

Derek: Brooklyn, if you turn out to be half as awesome as your mommy, you're in pretty good shape. Uncle Derek

There's another picture of Lucas and I but there's no message. Lucas hands me a paint pen. "I thought you'd like to do the honors." he tells me. I smile and take the pen from him

"Brooklyn, we are so blessed that we're going to have you in our lives. You are going to be the start of a great adventure. You are going to have so many people that love you so much, you won't know what to do! We're looking forward to meeting you, honey. Love, mommy and daddy."

A tear slips down my cheek as I hug everyone. "You guys are so amazing. I don't know what I would do without any of you." I tell them.

Once everyone leaves, Derek comes up and hugs me. "Do you have to go?" I ask him. "Actually, with me being out of the Marines, I asked Lucas if you guys had enough room for another new arrival. He said that I'd have to make sure it was okay with you." he tells me. I squeal and hug him. "Derek, are you sure? There's gonna be a newborn in the house in a month." I tell him. "Come on, I wouldn't pass up a chance to spend more time with my baby neice. I can't wait until she's here." he tells me.

I hug him and then Lucas. "I don't know how you managed to do all of this behind my back, but I love you for it. You're amazing and perfect and I couldn't have asked for a better birthday." I tell him. He kisses me. "You deserve it. You deserve everything this world has to offer Peyton."


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

October 5th dawns bright and cold. Lucas is gone for two days in Charlotte for book signings and appearances. He refused to go until my doctor assured him that I was at least a week and a half away from my due date. I wake up and dial his number.

"Hey baby." he answers.

"Hey, yourself. How did the signing go?" I ask him, smiling.

"Good. I missed you though."

"You're gonna be back tomorrow morning though, right?" I ask

"Yep. So what are you going to do today?" Lucas asks.

"I dunno. Probably call Nathan and bug him to keep me enterained." I laugh.

"Okay. I gotta start getting ready, but I'll see you tomorrow, okay? I love you."

I smile. "I love you too, Lucas."

I hang up and call Nathan and Haley's house. Half an hour later, Nathan is over at the house and we're getting ready to go for a walk. "You must be feeling pretty good today if you have the energy for a walk." Nathan tells me. "Yeah, it's weird. I slept really good last night. The baby wasn't moving around like crazy." I tell him. I grab my keys and we head out the door. We walk around downtown and stop in the cafe' for breakfast. "Hey mom!" I call as we walk in the door. "Hey Peyton!" Karen says. I hug her tightly. "Hey Nathan" she says as she hugs him too.

Nathan helps me up into a chair. "You know, I'll be thrilled when I can get into my own chair." I laugh.

"So Lucas is coming back tomorrow?" Karen asks.

"Yep." I say, taking a bite out of my oatmeal. "I woke up feeling pretty good and decided to take advantage of the weather and get out of the house."

She smiles. "You know, Keith keeps jumping every time the phone rings. He always thinks it's you or Lucas calling to say you're in labor." she tells me.

I laugh. "Yeah, well you'll be getting that call soon enough."

After we leave Karen's we head over to the river court. We sit on the bench and talk.

"This is still pretty wild. You and my brother, having a baby." Nathan says.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. It just seems like yesterday we got married. And pretty soon, we're gonna have this brand new little person in our lives." I agree.

"You know, back when we were dating, I always thought that it would be me and you that had a kid." he chuckles.

"Nathan, we could barely stand each other when we were together. But you know what, I wouldn't trade our friendship for anything in the world. You've been there for me through some really tough times. You and Lucas both, and I can't thank you enough for that." I tell him.

He hugs me. "I'm sorry for how I was back then. You deserved a lot better. "

"Yeah, you were. Haley did a good job though." I tease him.

We get up and start walking back through town to get to my house. Suddenly, I stop. "Hey, you okay?" Nathan asks, concerned. "I don't know, I'm just a little short of breath." I tell him. I grab onto a newspaper machine to try and keep my balance. "I'm calling the hospital." Nathan says, worried. "Nath-" My eyes roll back in my head and Nathan catches me before I hit the ground.

Nathan dials 911 frantically. "I need an ambulance. My sister in law collapsed. She's nine months pregnant. Please hurry!" he shouts.

Three minutes later and ambulance comes and rushes Nathan and I to the hospital. It's pure chaos, people trying to take my blood pressure, start an IV, take my pulse, and Nathan is filled with fear.

As soon as we get to the hospital, they take me straight into the emergency room, leaving Nathan alone in the waiting room. He dials Lucas number but doesn't get an answer. "Shit." he mumbles as he starts texting. Lucas is in the middle of a book signing when he gets a text. "911. It's Peyton. Call back NOW!" He excuses himself and runs outside and calls Nathan back. "Nate, what's up?!" he asks, panicked. "Peyton's in the hospital. We were walking and she collapsed. She was unconscious when they brought her in. Nobody will tell me anything." Nathan says, crying. Lucas hangs up the phone and his agent drives him to a small airfield with a private jet ready for takeoff.

45 minutes later, Lucas arrives at the hospital and rushes into the emergency room to find Nathan. "Where is she? What's going on? Where's the doctor?" he says, out of breath and panicked.

My doctor approaches him. "Are you Lucas Scott? Peyton Scott's husband?" he asks Lucas.

"Yes, what's going on? What's wrong with my wife?" Lucas shouts.

"Peyton has something called preeclampsia. When she was admitted her blood pressure was extremely high. We're monitoring her very carefully, and we're starting a drug through her I.V. to try and help. We'll know within a couple hours where to go from there." the doctor tells him.

"What happens if the drug doesn't work?" Lucas says, expecting the worst.

"We're going to have to deliver the baby, or we could lose both of them. We're going to move her up to maternity now, if you want to follow." the doctor tells him.

After the doctor walks away, Lucas completely breaks down. Nathan hugs him and just lets Lucas sob and scream.

After a few minutes, Lucas starts making phone calls telling everyone to get to the hospital right away.

Karen, Keith, Brooke, Haley, and Derek all arive within a few minutes of each other and Nathan fills them in while Lucas goes in to sit with me.

He opens the door and his breath catches in his throat.

He sits down next to my bed and takes my hand in his. "Hey, baby. It's me. I'm so sorry Peyton. I shouldn't have left you. I should have stayed right here with you." he whispers.

He wipes a few tears away with the back of his hand and chokes back a sob. "You gotta get better honey. Because I can't lose you. Not you or the baby."

After a while, Nathan comes in and sits down nex to Lucas. "How is she?" he asks. "No change. Just waiting for a miracle." Lucas tells him. "Lucas, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let her go out and push herself like that." Nathan says. "Nate, it's not your fault. The doctor said that this would have happened no matter what. It just happens. If it weren't for you, she might not be here right now. You saved her life." Lucas tells him. "I just want her to be okay."


	16. Chapter 16

_Author's Note: Well, this is the last chapter of "Everything I Have". I hope you guys enjoyed the story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you for all the great reviews! _

**Chapter Sixteen**

Two hours later, Dr. Lopez comes in to check on me. "Lucas, Peyton isn't responding to the medication as we'd hoped. We can't give her a higher dosage because of her pregnancy. I want to get her prepped for surgery to do an emergency C section. Once the baby is out, we're gonna have a much better chance at helping Peyton." she tells him.

"How long will it take-" Lucas starts

"Once we get in there, I can have the baby out in less than a minute." Dr. Lopez tells him.

"I want to be there when you deliver the baby." he says.

Lucas goes out into the waiting room to tell everyone the latest news.

"Lucas, what's going on?" Keith asks as he sees my bed being wheeled down the hall.

"She's not responding to the medication, so they're going to deliver the baby now." Lucas tells him.

Karen hugs him tightly.

"Luke, she's gonna be okay" Haley says as she hugs him tightly.

He looks at Derek who looks just as scares as he is. "She'll be alright. You know Peyton, always fighting."

Karen and Keith go up into the gallery to watch the surgery as Lucas gets suited up. He walks into the operating room and sits down on the stool provided for him. He strokes my cheek. "Come on Peyton." he whispers.

As promised, less than a minute later, they lift the baby out of me and hold her up.

She's screaming and wiggling, but she's beautiful.

"Congratulations, Lucas. You have a daughter." Dr. Lopez tells him. He smiles and looks up to the gallery where his mom and dad are hugging.

The doctors finish closing me up while Lucas goes over and stays with the baby.

Twenty minutes later, I'm in a recovery room with Lucas and our new daughter. Lucas looks down at this perfect little person and tears form in his eyes. He opens the blanket and looks down at her perfect little fingers and toes and smiles. "You have your mommy's feet." he whispers.

Everyone comes in the room to see the baby. "Oh Luke, she's beautiful." Brooke says. Lucas smiles and hands her the baby. "How's she doing?" Haley asks. "Still unconcscious. The doctors started her on a more aggressive form of the antibiotic. They said it's just up to her when she wakes up." he tells her. When the baby gets to Keith, he holds her to him and smiles hugely. "The last time I held something this small is when you were born." he tells Lucas. The baby looks up at Keith and grabs his finger. "Welcome to the world Brooklyn Elizabeth Scott." he says.

Everyone goes back out in the waiting room to give Lucas some space, but Nathan stays. As he holds the baby, he can't help but wonder if Brooklyn will have to go through growing up without a mother, just like I did.

"She's like Peyton's mini me." Nathan laughs.

"Yeah, right down to her feet. She has my eyes, though." Lucas says, smiling. Brooklyn's eyes are the bluest he's ever seen.

The minutes tick by painfully slow, and finally Lucas falls asleep, letting Nathan keep an eye on me and the baby.

I struggle to open my eyes, and then shut them again because the lights are so bright. I open them again slowly, and see Lucas sleeping next to my bed. "Hey, you're awake." I turn my head and see Nathan sitting on the other side of me, holding a baby wrapped in a pink blanket. "Is that-?" I whisper. "This is your daughter." Nathan tells me, smiling. He hands her to me, and I hold her in my arms and start crying like a baby. She looks up at me and gurgles, as if to say "It's about time mom". "Lucas, wake up. Peyton's awake." Nathan says as he shakes Lucas. Lucas opens his eyes and sees me holding our daughter. He kisses me and holds me to him tightly. "Thank God." he whispers. "How do you feel?" "A little sore." I tell him. "They had to deliver the baby by ceserean. It was the only way to help you." Lucas tells me. I look at Lucas and then back down at our daughter and smile.

Everyone comes in to see me and see how I'm doing and to say congratulations.

I hug Nathan tightly. "You saved both of us, you know that right? I can't thank you enough." I tell him

"I just wanted both of you guys to be okay. I wanted you to be able to be there for your daughter." he whispers.

I smile and let a tear run down my cheek. "I wouldn't miss this for the world."

Later that night, Lucas slips into the hospital bed with me and he holds me. "I shouldn't have left you. I promise that from now on, I'm not going to leave either of you guys again." he tells me.

"Luke, this wasn't your fault. You had a job to do, and I told you to go and do it. All that matters is that I'm fine and the baby's fine. That's it." I assure him.

"I don't know what I would do if I lost either of you." Lucas says with tears in his eyes.

"You're not going to lose us. You're stuck with us forever."

"I'm good with that." he says as he kisses me.


End file.
